Wool or wool noil ball



1949. H. D. BOYNTON 2,478,232

WOOL OR WOOL NOIL BALL Filed April 26, 1946 IN V EN TOR.

fikm/d 50 Mm ear/12% Patented Aug. 9, 1949 WOOL R WOOL NOIL BALL HaroldD. Boynton, Aurora, 111.

Application April 26, 1946, Serial No. 665,091

2 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in wool or woolnoil balls. The invention particularly relates to the method ofproducing such a ball. As an object of the invention is the provisionfor producing a wool ball in a manner such that when the ball iscompletely formed its shape will be substantially perfect, free fromsurface cracks, holes, or indentations, a ball which appears whenhandled to be hollow and yet is in solid form. The steps employed inthis method assure the production of such a ball by various steps whichresult in rapid production ateconomical cost.

The ball formed by my improved method is adaptable for sundry uses, itbeing desirable that a wool ball be as near perfect in form as ispossible. To achieve this object, after the ball has been kneaded byhand, it is placed first in a slowly revolving drum for shaping purposesand then in a more rapidly revolving drum to felt the ball down to thedesired size.

Another object is the provision for producing a wool ball, the outsideportion of which has a greater density than the inside, therebyproducing a ball which is substantially solid throughout but has theeffect of a ball which is hollow and one having substantially resilientcharacteristics.

Another and equally important object of the invention is the formationof a wool ball by a method which is carried into eiTect with the minimumexpense, thereby permitting wool balls to be produced at an economicalcost.

Other objects Will appear hereinafter,

The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of partsto be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings showing the preferred form of construction, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a disc cut from a wool bat form and of apredetermined diameter;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of a plurality of discs similar to thatshown in Fig. 1, arranged in superimposed position with respect to eachother and connected together at their medial portions by an ordinarystaple;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the assembly shown in Fig. 2 after thesame has been treated within a slowly revolving drum;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the ball after it is hand-kneaded andready for treatment in a slowly revolving drum;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatical illustration of a re- 2 volving drum used forthe formation of the wool ball; I

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the finished ball.

In carrying my improved method into effect and in the manufacture of myimproved wool noil ball, a plurality of discs are cut from a wool hat Iin sheet form. This wool sheet is of a predetermined thickness, and thediscs in are cut of a predetermined diameter or of such diameter as isrequired for the size of a ball having a desired diameter. A pluralityof these. discs in are arranged in stacked, superimposed position withrespect to each other and are connected together at their medial portionby an ordinary paper staple ll (Fig. 2). The number of these discsemployed is dependent upon the size of the ball desired. This assemblyindicated at I2 is now placed in a slowly revolving drum, such asindicated at I 3, which is allowed to run for a predetermined length oftime for matting the wool fiber of the assembly together, thus resultingin the form indicated at l2, shown in Fig. 3. At the terminal of thisoperation (the length of time depending upon the time necessary to matthe discs together in the form as shown in Fig. 3),

the assembly I2 is taken from the revolving drum and saturated with aliquid, such for example as a soap solution, for cohesively matting thewool fibers together upon being kneaded by hand, during which latteroperation the assembly is reduced to the desired size and at the sametime substantially most of the liquid is squeezed therefrom. Thiskneading continues until the assembly is reduced to a desirable size asshown at M in Fig. 4. This kneading of the mass is done substantiallysimilar to that of forming or making a snowball by the use of the hand.

After this operation has taken place, then the ball-like mass M, asshown in Fig. 4, is ready for shaping. This is accomplished by placingthe ball-like mass I 4 in a slowly revolving drum, allowing the mass torevolve therein until it has been shaped as nearly round as possible andall evidence of separate portions thereof removed. It is desirable thatthe outside surface of the ball be felted so that it will have a greaterdensity than the interior of the ball. This is accomplished by nowplacing the ball as shown in Fig. 4, into the drum l3 and revolving thesame at a substantially fast speed. As the ball revolves within the drum[3, its outside surface will bear against the inside surfaces of thedrum, with the result that the wool fibers will be substantially mattedon the outside surface of the ball, result- 3 ing in the formation of afelt on the outside surface of the ball.

When the ball is complete as shown at I5 in Fig. 6, it will be free ofany lines of severance, cracks, holes, or indentations, and will besubstantially round. It will have the appearance of a solid ball withunbroken surfaces, and, when held in the hand, it will have the feel ofa solid ball with a hollow center. It will be substantially resilientfor the purposes for which it is intended.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the method employedfor producing a wool noil ball is simple, economical, and one which hasas its final result a substantially perfectly formed ball having thenecessary felt on the outside area of a greater density than that of theinside area and of a resiliency highly desirable for the intended use towhich the ball is subjected.

In Fig. '5 I have illustrated diagrammatically a revolving drum. Noattempt is here made to describe the construction of such a drum, as thedrum per so does not enter into any par-t of my invention. Any device inwhich there is a revolving drum, is adaptable for the purposehereinbefore set forth.

The main object of my invention is to provide a wool noil ball from aplurality of discs cut from a bat form and secured together and thensubsequently reduced and rounded to the desired ball shape. This objectis accomplished by the hereinbefore described method.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstruction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable ofvariation and modification without departing from the spirit of theinvention. it, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of suchvariations and modifications as come within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patentis:

1. The method of making a wool noil ball from a plurality of discs ofequal diameter and size consisting of securing the discs together,placing the secured discs in a slowly revolving drum for matting theWool fibers together, saturating the shaped mass with a soap solution,kneading the saturated mass by hand and extracting therefrom most of thesoap solution, placing the kneaded .mass a slowly revolving drum toshape the mass in the form of a ball, and then placing the ball in afast revolving drum to form a felt on the outside of the ball.

2. The method of making a wool noil ball from a plurality of discs ofequal diameter and size consisting of securing the discs together,placing the secured discs in a slowly revolving drum for matting thewool fibers together, saturating the shaped mass with a liquid, kneadingthe saturated mass by hand and extracting therefrom most of the liquid,placing the kneaded mass in a slowly revolving drum to shape the mass inthe form of a ball, and then placing the ball in a fast revolving drumto form a felt on the outside of the ball.

HAROLD D. BOYNTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 389,131 Atherton Sept. 4, 18881,479,266 Troestel Jan. 1, 1924 1,533,345 Smith Apr. 14, 1925 1,656,462Willis Jan. 17, 1928 1,657,744 Durkee Jan. 31, 1928 2,112,207 GenestMar. 22, 1938 2,266,427 Levy-Hawes Dec. 16, 1941 2,450,474 Grobner Oct.5, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 9,707 Great Britain 1893

